Court document · Anti-Discrimination & Industrial Relations
General protections dismissal application (Fair Work Commission Form F8): completion guide and 21-day checklist
A companion guide to the Fair Work Commission's Form F8: the 21-day limit and how to count it, the extension factors, which Fair Work Act provisions to allege, how to set out each contravention in numbered paragraphs, respondents, outcome sought and the steps after lodgement.
- Kind
- Court document. A document filed or served in a court or tribunal.
- Where it applies
- Australia
- AI use
- Red Keep AI out of the decisive steps. A lawyer does the work.
- Law stated as at
- 18 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 18 October 2026 against the 2 authorities it cites, for Australia.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when acting for an employee who says they were dismissed for a prohibited reason (workplace right, industrial activity, discrimination, temporary absence and others under Part 3-1). Start on the day of instructions because the 21 days runs from when the dismissal took effect. Not for unfair dismissal (Form F2) or non-dismissal general protections disputes.
How AI may be used
AI may build the chronology, count the 21 days and check the form for missing fields; the lawyer writes the alleged contraventions and every statement in the application, because it is filed in the Commission.
AI may
- Count the 21-day period from the date the dismissal took effect and diarise it
- Build a dated chronology from the termination letter, emails and the client's notes, with references
- Check the completed form against this guide for missing fields, respondents and attachments
AI must not
- Must not draft the description of the contraventions (question 2.2) or the extension reasons (section 4) for filing
- Must not decide which sections of the Fair Work Act were contravened or whether to add individual respondents
- Must not assert facts about the employer's reasons that the client cannot support
The lawyer checks
- Date the dismissal took effect confirmed from documents, and the application lodged within 21 days (or extension grounds prepared)
- Each alleged contravention identifies the protected attribute or workplace right and the adverse action
- Additional respondents named only where accessorial involvement under s 550 can be alleged
- Fee paid or waiver sought, and no unfair dismissal application has also been made about the same dismissal
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
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The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
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